Center for Open Government: West Louisville TIF board membership prescribed by Frankfort.

Several media outlets have reported on the recent appointments to the West End Opportunity Partnership (WEOP) board. (WDRB, LBF, Courier-Journal) An unreported detail is that WEOP’s board membership was largely dictated by the Frankfort authors of the legislation. (SB100, SB125)

The legislators drafted the bill behind closed doors, then dropped it on the rest of the General Assembly with only fourteen days remaining in the 2021 session. The complex legislation didn’t get traction and was only passed after the Senate amended an unrelated bill to ram the program through in the closing hours of the session.

Advocates for the TIF have said that up to $1 billion in sales and property taxes could ultimately be managed by WEOP over the 30-year life of the program. (WDRB) The WEOP board will have full autonomy over where the money will be distributed. (WHAS)

Without the benefit of a full vetting through the normal legislative process, it’s important for the public to understand as much background as possible on why these individuals were chosen.

Here is a list of the individuals appointed to the WEOP board and the corresponding legislative language prescribing their appointments:

J. Michael Brown (“one member appointed by the Governor”)

Dr. Dawn Wade (“one member appointed by the mayor of a consolidated local government”)

David James (“one member of the legislative council of the consolidated local government”)

Mark Watkins (“a representative of the University of Louisville appointed by its board of trustees”)

Dr. Frank Smith (“a representative of Simmons College of Kentucky appointed by its board of trustees”)

Jeana Dunlap (“one member from the NAACP of Louisville”)

DeVone Holt (“one member from OneWest in Louisville”)

Christina Shadle (“one member from from the Louisville Urban League”)

Sadiqua Reynolds* (“one member from the Federal Reserve Bank”)

Jennifer Hancock (“one member from the Volunteers of America Mid States in Louisville”)

David Kaplan (“one member from a locally based foundation with assets over one hundred million dollars”)

Steve Trager (“one member from a bank with local assets greater than one billion dollars”)

The lack of transparency in creating the TIF created legitimate skepticism of the motives behind WEOP, including from the communities most affected by it. The involvement of one of Louisville’s largest developers, the Poe Companies, also raises questions.

With the launch so poorly managed, WEOP would benefit by over-delivering on transparency going forward.

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*Sadiqua Reynolds is President of the Louisville Urban League but was appointed to the WEOP board as a member of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank board of directors.